7 July 2009

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know I have started a weekly feature to highlight Canadian Chefs a few months ago. Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. For the next few months I will continue to feature one of our Canadian chefs each week. There will be some chefs you have heard of and adore and some lesser known who are up and coming. As the tenth installment in my Canadian Chef series I introduce you to:

Ned Bell

Ned Bell is a hometown boy who has "done good" and is arguably one of Canada’s foremost culinary talents. Born here in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia’s Wine Country, Ned has always had a passion for cooking and is steadfast in his vision and drive to create new, imaginative dishes with fresh, local ingredients.

Ned began his career in Vancouver working under two local restaurant legends... first under the tutelage of Le Crocodile’s Michel Jacob and then as Sous Chef for Rob Feenie’s Lumiere restaurant.

In 1997 Bell set his sights eastward where he enjoyed successful stints as Executive Chef at Niagara on the Lake’s Peninsula Ridge Estate Winery, and at Toronto’s Accolade and Senses restaurants where he earned significant recognition by the city’s culinary cognoscenti. During his time in Toronto, Bell was a regular on Food Network Canada’s “Cook Like a Chef.”

Ready to make his mark on the up-and-coming Calgary restaurant scene, the new millennium saw Ned moving west to cook up a storm at Murrieta’s Grill in Calgary, where his list of accomplishments included winning Where Magazine’s Rising Star and Best Overall awards.
Wanting to get further engaged in the business side of restaurants, Bell joined the team at Vintage Chophouse and Red Water Grille as Corporate Chef where his passion, knowledge, creativity and focus turned the restaurants into two of Calgary’s most exciting culinary locales.

The vibrant, young chef is thrilled to return to his roots where he is excitedly living his dream of being both Executive Chef and an owner at Cabana Bar and Grille here in Kelowna, BC. We are excited to have him return!!!! It turns out that you can go home again (although I think he grew up in Penticton)!!!! "Ned Bell has been a Vancouver chef, a Toronto chef, a Calgary chef and a TV chef. But last year he heeded his Okanagan roots and the call to gather the artisanal bounty of the area in a mass-appeal package. The result is the first Cabana Grille, a slick spot on Kelowna’s lakeshore that has the energy of a hip, casually upscale room coupled with the deft touch of a master chef. If all goes according to plan, you may see a Cabana coming soon to a location near you."

Ned’s talent and charisma continue to propel him forward. Since opening Cabana Bar and Grille, Ned has begun filming “It’s Just Food” for CTV so watch for his show in the near future!!!! He has also been voted one of Western Living’s Top 40 Foodies Under 40. Ned is also lending his good taste to Vancouver Cooks 2 which is a coveted collection of recipes from Vancouver’s best chefs.

It was hard to choose one specific recipe to highlight Ned's passions with recipes such as Breakfast Salad with Goat Cheese, Lamb Roasted in Oiled Parchment with Pecorino ,or Potato Wrapped Deep Fried Prawns. I finally decided upon a vegetarian dish of bulgur stuffed sweet peppers with a slightly crunchy crust of Parmesan...so delicious!!!! Yes those are the tiniest tomatoes on the face of the earth. They have been growing in a hanging basket on my patio and are the size of my pinkie fingernail!!!! What they lack in their diminutive size they make up for with a burst of intense flavour!!!!

Heat the oil with butter over a medium heat in a covered saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add the Serrano or jalapeno pepper and the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock and the soy sauce, pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer over a low heat, covered for 5 minutes. Add the bulgur wheat, walnuts and honey and give it a good stir. Cover the pot and reduce it to a simmer until the bulgur is tender, about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and cool slightly. Stir in the fresh basil, fresh thyme, oregano, grated cheeses and beaten eggs.

Put the red pepper halves into an oiled baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Press some of the stuffing into each pepper and finish off the top with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmesan.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

Featuring Canadian chefs is a fantastic plan. As for this, I can't wait to give it a go. We're trying to save meat for weekends and stick closer to the source as much as possible. This is a fantastic addition to our dinner rotation. And may I say, simply beautiful!

Stuffed peppers and tomatoes don't usually appeal to me but these look AMAZING! Yumm I think it's all that cheese on top. I love that there's bulgur in there! And I really want to steal that tomato mm.

Nice! My peppers are starting to grow like a weed so pretty soon I will be looking for a bunch of way to prepare them. Stuffing them is one of my favorite ways and I am just starting to get into wheat so yeah! Going to have to try this.

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.